A Care Guide For New Rabbits: Housing & Exercise

If you’re a new rabbit owner, you’re currently probably a combination of both elated and nervous. Elated, because your new pet is amazing, cute, and everything you’ve ever wanted in a furry friend. Nervous, because owning a rabbit is a big responsibility and you’re not totally sure about how to take care of your new pet yet. But don’t worry, we’ve got you covered! We’ll go over two of the more important aspects of basic rabbit care in order to help take some of the stress out of your first rabbit-owning experience. We hope you find this information helpful.

1) Housing

It’s important to make sure that your new rabbit has a comfortable home of their own within your household. Whether it’s a rabbit hutch in your backyard or a rabbit condo inside your house, make sure that your rabbit’s cage is large enough for them to hop around inside. Additionally, be aware of whether an indoor or outdoor environment is better for your rabbit. Some breeds do better indoors, and you should also take into consideration the presence of any natural outdoor predators in your area (such as coyotes, foxes, and mountain lions) before placing your rabbit’s home in your backyard.

Another factor is your local weather conditions; your rabbit may have a fur coat, but if temperatures get too cold outside at night, your rabbit will likely become sick. The same goes for hot regions, like desert or chaparral areas; your rabbit can get overheated and become ill if they stay in an outdoor hutch on a hot day. In general, rabbits don’t react well to extreme temperatures of any kind, so make sure to always keep that in mind when deciding where and how to house your new rabbit.

2) Exercise

It’s important for your rabbit to get enough exercise, so make sure to let them out of their hutch or rabbit condo for at least a few hours every day. Make sure to bunny-proof whatever area you let them play in, though. If you’re letting your rabbit roam around inside your house, take the time to cover or wrap any electrical wires that they could chew on, and also make sure to safeguard any furniture or baseboards if you don’t want your rabbit to gnaw on them. Alternatively, if you’re letting your rabbit outdoors it’s important to make sure there’s nothing they could chew on or ingest that could cause them harm, such as poisonous mushrooms or any other type of plant that is toxic to rabbits.

Regardless of if your rabbit exercises indoors or outdoors it’s important to never leave them unsupervised for long periods of time; pets have a way of finding trouble without us looking out for them, and rabbits in particular are quite fast and therefore can find ways to get into mischief even quicker than normal.